June 30, 2011

Every once in awhile you read about a Court opinion and you just shake your head. "What were they thinking?" Initially, I had that exact reaction when I read about the following case. In Cabral v Ralphs Grocery Company, 51 Cal 4th 764 (2011), the California Supreme Court held, contrary to the decision of the appeals court, that an employer owed a legal duty to avoid a collision between the driver of a vehicle who fell asleep at the wheel and then collided with the employer's stopped truck.

What? I know, that's what I said.

Turns out the Supreme Court wasn't too far off base and there is a lesson to be learned here for any employer who lets their employees get behind the wheel during the course and scope of their employment.

In Cabral, a truck driver employed by Ralphs Grocery stopped his tractor-trailer rig alongside Interstate 10 in order to have a snack. The truck driver did pull off of the freeway, but only onto the shoulder of the freeway into a dirt area marked by a sign that read "Emergency Parking Only". As the truck driver ate his snack, the decedent cut across two lanes of traffic and ran into the back of the tractor-trailer, killing him instantly. The decedent's family prevailed at the trial court level, but was reversed at the appellate court level. The Supreme Court then reversed, agreeing with the trial court that Ralphs was in part to blame for the unfortunate accident.

The reasoning of the Supreme Court was as follows: California Civil Code Section 1714 establishes a general duty of care for the safety of others.That drivers might lose control of their vehicles, leave a freeway for a shoulder area, and collide with an obstacle was not categorically unforeseeable. Therefore, a driver has a duty to take reasonable precautions when stopping his vehicle on the freeway, or on the shoulder of the freeway, for non-emergency reasons.

What is the lesson to be learned here? For employers, including dealerships, make sure any snack or rest breaks are taken at designated rest areas where the driver can pull completely off of the freeway to bypass any liability. And add "Don't snack and drive" to the list of things to avoid.